Breaking News, November 16 | HIGHLIGHTS

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Prasad Lad on Wednesday demanded the Maharashtra government take over the upcoming memorial of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray in Mumbai. Shiv Sena president and Bal Thackeray's son Uddhav Thackeray had said the construction of the memorial, coming up at the Mumbai mayor's bungalow at Shivaji Park in Dadar, will be completed by the end of 2023. Lad said a memorial cannot belong to any family or person. "An individual from the Thackeray family can be a member of the memorial committee," he told reporters. The coalition government of 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' and the BJP is headed by Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray led to the collapse of the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation in June.

A self-styled cow protection team caught three suspected smugglers on Wednesday after a 20-km chase during which they were allegedly fired upon by the smugglers, leaving one member injured and their three vehicles damaged, police said. They said three to four other suspected smugglers managed to flee after their vehicle was caught near Palwal. Police said they have now taken custody of the three suspected smugglers identified as Salim, Mehmood and Saad, and registered an FIR at the Hathin police station on the complaint of the cow protection team. "We have nabbed the three and an FIR has been registered against them. We will produce them in a city court on Thursday," said inspector Jasveer, SHO of Hathin police station.

Five foreign nationals were grievously injured after the SUV in which they were travelling collided head-on with a speeding car in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district on Wednesday, officials said. The accident took place on Khandar road when the foreign nationals were going to the Ranthambore National Park for an evening safari, they said. Due to the impact of the collision, one of the rear tyres of the SUV popped out and the tourists fell down, while the car fell into a ditch, they said. "A gypsy was hit by a car during a tour in Zone 10. Due to this, five foreign tourists travelling in the gypsy were injured. They were admitted to a private hospital. One of the tourists has been referred to Jaipur," said Sandeep Chowdhary, Deputy Conservator of Forest (Tourism), Ranthambore Tiger Project. After receiving information about the accident, forest department officials and Kotwali police station personnel reached the spot. Gypsy driver Ramesh Meena has registered a complaint against the car driver, police said. 

The government will increase the regional air connectivity levy charged from airlines operating on major routes to Rs 10,000 per departure from Jan 1, a move that could push the airfares higher. Currently, the levy is Rs 5,000 per departure and the amount will further go up to Rs 15,000 from April 1 next year, according to a notification. 

India will be launching negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with a region next week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He said that negotiations are going on with countries, including the UK, European Union, Canada and Israel. "Next week, we will be launching one more very important FTA," Goyal said here at a function of consumer electronics. Though the minister did not disclose the name of the region, there is a likelihood that the talks may start with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the region was keen to increase economic engagement with India.

AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi has been summoned by the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government on Thursday in connection with poll ticket bribery case, officials said. The development comes a day after the ACB arrested Tripathi''s brother-in-law and his two associates for allegedly demanding Rs 90 lakh as bribe for arranging ticket to a party worker's wife in the civic polls. A senior ACB official said Tripathi has been summoned by the department at 11 am Thursday in connection with the probe. The incident came to light on Monday after a person named Gopal Khari, who claimed being associated with the Aam Aadmi Party as an active worker since 2014, approached the ACB with the complaint, according to an official statement on Wednesday. Khari met Model Town legislator Tripathi last Wednesday with a request for a councillor ticket from the AAP for his wife from ward no. 69 in Kamla Nagar, the ACB said.

Amid global turmoil, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday asked bankers to remain watchful of the evolving macroeconomic situation and take measures proactively so that the potential impact on their balance sheets is minimised. The governor in his introductory remarks acknowledged the crucial role played by the commercial banks in supporting economic growth throughout the turbulent times since the outbreak of the pandemic and the ongoing financial market turmoil.

Tension prevailed in a locality here over alleged religious conversion and a man lodged a complaint against 15 people including a few pastors and a history-sheeter, police said. An FIR has not been registered by the police. A large number of people from the Shikkaligar community along with members of pro-Hindu outfits gathered at the Old Hubballi police station on Tuesday night demanding action against Christian missionaries who were allegedly involved in converting people. According to police, the incident came to light following a quarrel between a couple. The husband alleged that his wife is forcing him to convert to Christianity and refusing to live with him. When he couldn't handle the pressure from his wife, he had brought the matter to the notice of community leaders, they said.

The release of activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case, was delayed yet again on Wednesday as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raised safety concerns about a premises in Navi Mumbai where he had proposed to live during his house arrest. 

The Railways will build 1,000 km of boundary walls over the next six months in sections of its network where maximum cases of cattle being run over by trains are recorded, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. According to official data, cattle run overs affected 200 trains in the first nine days of October. As many as 4,000 trains have been affected so far this year. "We are working seriously on the issue of building boundary walls. We are looking at two different designs. While we have approved one, which is a sturdy wall, over the next five to six months, we plan to build 1,000 km of such walls across sections to determine if the design works," Vaishnaw said. He also stated that conventional boundary walls will not be able to solve the problem of cattle run over but will end up affecting villagers around the area. The minister, however, did not give any information on the material that will be used for building the boundary walls to make them sturdy enough to not only keep the cattle away from railway tr

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday declared candidates for three more seats for the second phase of the two-phase Gujarat Assembly polls scheduled next month. With the latest names, the BJP has declared candidates for 181 of the total 182 constituencies that will vote in two phases on December 1 (89 seats) and December 5 (93 seats). Manjalpur in Vadodara is the only segment for which a candidate is yet to be announced by the ruling party. The three seats for which the names of nominees were declared on Wednesday are Kheralu, Mansa, and Garbada. For Kheralu in Mehsana district, BJP has dropped its sitting MLA Ajmalji Thakor and instead given a ticket to Sardarsinh Chaudhary. The candidates for the Mansa seat in Gandhinagar district and Garbada (Scheduled Tribe) segment in Dahod district are Jayanti aka JS Patel and Mahendra Bhabhor, respectively.

Poland said on Wednesday there is “absolutely no indication” that a missile which came down in Polish farmland, killing two people, was a intentional attack on the NATO country, and that neighbour Ukraine likely launched the Soviet-era projectile as it fended off a Russian air assault that savaged its power grid. “Ukraine's defence was launching their missiles in various directions and it is highly probable that one of these missiles unfortunately fell on Polish territory," said Polish President Andrzej Duda. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, at a meeting of the military alliance in Brussels, agreed with the assessment.

A day ahead of his appearance before the ED in a money laundering case, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Wednesday slammed the BJP and said that every conspiracy hatched against him will be thwarted. In view of the ED's summons the ruling UPA in the state is holding back-to-back meetings. JMM is holding a separate meeting, while Congress has called a party legislators' meeting in the evening. A meeting of coalition partners is also likely to be held at the chief minister's residence in the evening, where RJD, which has a lone MLA, will be present. Soren slammed the BJP for the federal agency's summons but did not name it. “By hook or by crook, they want to remove me from power. I will foil their conspiracy.”

Shares of Bikaji Foods International Ltd ended the day nearly 6 per cent higher on its market debut on Wednesday against the issue price of Rs 300. The stock listed at Rs 321.15, reflecting a gain of 7 per cent against the issue price on the BSE. During the day, it rallied 11.66 per cent to Rs 335. The stock finally settled at Rs 317.45, higher by 5.81 per cent. At the NSE, shares of the firm debuted at Rs 322.80, climbing 7.6 per cent and later ended at Rs 317.50, a gain of 5.83 per cent. The company commanded a market valuation of Rs 7,920.69 crore on the BSE. In traded volume terms, 20.96 lakh shares of the firm were traded at the BSE and over 2.74 crore at the NSE during the day. The initial public offering (IPO) of Bikaji Foods International was subscribed 26.67 times last week. The Rs 881.22-crore IPO had a price range of Rs 285-300 a share. Bikaji is the largest manufacturer of 'Bikaneri bhujia' with an annual production of 29,380 tonnes and is a leading maker of packaged 'rasgulla', 'soan papdi' and 'gulab jamun'. 

Electricity is an essential service and a person cannot be deprived of it without a cogent and lawful reason, the Delhi High Court has said. The court stated that even when there is a dispute over the ownership of a property, the authorities cannot deprive its legal occupant of electricity by insisting on a no objection certificate (NOC) from those claiming to be the owners. “There is no gainsaying that electricity is an essential service, of which a person cannot be deprived without cogent, lawful reason. It is well-settled that even if disputes exist as to ownership of the property at which an electricity connection is sought, the concerned authorities cannot deprive the legal occupant thereof by insisting that an NOC be furnished from others who also claim to be owners,” said Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri in an order dated November 14.

A 19-year-old girl was pushed to death from the fourth floor of a building allegedly by her neighbour who was trying to befriend her and force her to convert, police said on Wednesday. The incident occurred in an area under the Dubagga police station limits on Tuesday night, Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Piyush Mordia said, adding that the family members of the young woman have alleged that the accused Sufiyan was forcing her to convert to Islam. "The girl and the accused were neighbours and he was trying to befriend her. Their families were against their friendship," he said. According to the police, Sufiyan had given a mobile phone to the girl. When her family came to know about it, they reached the accused’s house to confront his family members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held "fruitful" talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here and the two leaders examined ways to expand bilateral economic engagement and defence collaboration. This is the third time that Modi and Scholz have met this year. The first meeting between the two leaders took place during Modi's visit to Berlin on May 2 for the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC). It was followed by Modi's visit to Schloss Elmau in Germany, as partner country for the G7 Summit at Chancellor Scholz’s invitation.

A couple was killed when their motorcycle was hit by a pickup truck in Kotwali Dehat police station limits here, police said. Deep Narayan Gupta (45) and his wife Kunti Devi (42) were on their way to a relative's home on Tuesday evening when a pickup truck hit their motorcycle near Parsapur petrol pump, the police said. While the man was killed on the spot, his wife succumbed on her way to hospital, they said. The police have sent the bodies for post mortem and initiated an investigation. PTI COR CDN SZM

The G20 members on Wednesday agreed that it was essential to uphold international law and multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability, but the differences among them was evident over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A joint declaration issued at the end of the two-day G20 summit here acknowledged the differences over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying most members strongly condemned it. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who hosted the summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak among others, said that there was contentious discussion on the Russia-Ukraine conflict during their deliberations. Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped the summit and sent his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to represent the country.

The Assam government on Wednesday launched a special programme aimed at increasing agriculture productivity and doubling farmers’ income. A special initiative, Assam Millet Mission, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for this purpose. “Launched Assam Millet Mission, targeted to raise nutrition quotient & doubling farmers' income. To increase productivity, it will also contribute in crop diversification,” Sarma tweeted. “Distributed power tillers, pump sets, mini trucks, harvesters, crop seeds, financial aids among beneficiaries,” he added. The chief minister also inaugurated six soil testing and quality control labs, and two knowledge centres, which will help the state become self-sufficient in agriculture. 

Gold prices rose by Rs 320 to Rs 53,449 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday in line with firm global trend and depreciation in the rupee, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 53,129 per 10 grams. Silver, however, dropped Rs 125 to Rs 62,682 per kg. The rupee depreciated 66 paise to 81.57 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities. "Better domestic physical demand, a weaker rupee and higher international prices supported domestic gold prices," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who is walking with Rahul Gandhi in Bharat Jodo Yatra, on Wednesday said the condition of roads in Maharashtra and Bihar is equally bad and took a dig at the Central government over the road construction. Talking to reporters in Washim, Ramesh said the condition of roads in Maharashtra is bad unlike in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra has awarded a compensation of Rs 49.33 lakh to a 29-year-old man for the injuries he suffered in a road accident in 2017. MACT member M M Walimohammed, in the order passed on November 1, directed the owner of the offending tempo and its insurer to jointly and severally make the payment along with seven per cent interest per annum from the date of filing of the petition to the man within the next two months.

Four militant associates of The Resistance Front (TRF) outfit, involved in grenade attacks in Srinagar, were arrested here, police said. Explosives and ammunition were recovered from them. "Four terror associates of TRF arrested by Srinagar Police. These terror associates were involved in grenade attacks in Srinagar & used to provide logistical support to active terrorists of TRF," the Srinagar Police stated. 

The tenure of Dr V G Somani as the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has been again extended by another three months, according to an order issued by the Union Health Ministry. The extension will come into effect from Tuesday, the order said. He was earlier given an extension in August this year.

A police inspector allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at the police training centre in Maharashtra's Dhule district, an official said on Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Praveen Vishwanath Kadam, purportedly left a note before the incident on Tuesday in which he mentioned that no one should be held responsible for his extreme step, he said.

Three people were killed in an explosion in a drug manufacturing unit at Gouripatnam in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. District Collector K Madhavi Latha announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 20 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. It was prima facie established that management lapses caused the explosion. Further investigation into the case is on.

A sessions court in Maharashtra has directed the Washim police to conduct an investigation into the alleged remarks made by Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik against Sameer Wankhede, the former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau. The sessions court in Washim district passed the order on Tuesday on a complaint filed by Sanjay Wankhede, the cousin of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede.

Miffed over denial of ticket from Khatauli assembly seat, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Abhishek Chaudhary Gurjar has joined the BJP. Gurjar, who was the RLD's national spokesperson, joined the BJP at the residence of state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary here on Tuesday.
Sources said Gurjar was upset with the RLD leadership which gave ticket to former MLA Madan Bhaiya for the Khatauli seat.
The election was necessitated after BJP MLA Vikram Saini was convicted and sentenced by a special court in connection with a case related to the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013.

The G20 summit delegates will visit the world-famous Ajanta and Ellora caves and other prominent sites in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district over two days in February next year, officials said. India will assume the Presidency of the influential G20 group for one year from December 1, 2022.

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that it was "unlikely" that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia, but pledged support for Poland's investigation into what it had called a "Russian-made" missile. Biden spoke after he convened an "emergency" meeting of the Group of Seven and NATO leaders in Indonesia on Wednesday morning for consultations on the attack that killed two people in the eastern part of Poland near the Ukraine border.

NASA began fuelling its new moon rocket on Tuesday for a middle-of-the-night launch, its third try to put an empty capsule around the moon for the first time in 50 years. Fuel leaks plagued the first two attempts in late summer, then a pair of hurricanes caused more delays. While engineers never pinpointed the cause of the escaping hydrogen, they altered the fuelling process to minimise leakage and were confident that all the plumbing in the 322-foot (98-metre) rocket would remain tight and intact.

Poland said early on Wednesday that a Russian-made missile fell in the eastern part of the country, killing two people in a blast that marked the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that Russian weapons came down on a NATO country. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy decried the strike as "a very significant escalation" of the war. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the government was investigating and raising its military preparedness.
A statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry identified the missile as being made in Russia. But President Andrzej Duda was more cautious about its origin, saying that officials did not know for sure who fired it or where it was made. He said it was "most probably" Russian-made but that is being still verified.

On the cusp of touching the magic number of 218 that would give the Republicans a majority in the House of  Representatives, party lawmakers elected Congressman Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday for the powerful post of speaker in the next Congress beginning in January.  McCarthy, who is currently the House Minority Leader, would have to win a majority of the 436 members of the House next year before being formally elected as its speaker. The House speaker is the second in line of political succession after the president and the vice president.

Thane Police resorted to lathicharge as tension escalated in Kisan Nagar area after members of Shiv Sena factions of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray came face to face, prompting the demand for a probe. The incident occurred after the midnight in Bhatwadi area of Thane city. Naresh Mhaske, a spokesperson of the 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (BSS) faction headed by Shinde, on Tuesday, demanded a probe into the police action. Thane Lok Sabha member Rajan Vichare, who supports the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, has alleged hooliganism by supporters of the Sena camp headed by CM Shinde.